Agri land record verification irks prisoners in Punjab

Patiala, Apr 17 (UNI) Prison inmates at the central jail here are irked over the decision of the Punjab government to inquire into the land records of prisoners before releasing them on parole/bail for the wheat harvesting season.

While unconfirmed reports claimed that some of the prisoners had gone on hunger strike against this order, Jail Superintendent G S Sidhu yesterday denied this. He, however, admitted that the order had caused resentment among prisoners who had applied for bail on the plea that they desired to harvest their wheat crop.

Amritsar Central Jail superintendent Roop Lal, when contacted said the order of the state government on verification of agricultural land records had been in force for quite sometime. He said it is a routine procedure in which the tehsildars verify whether the prisoner applying for parole or bail owns agricultural land.

The jail authorities here have started inquiring into the land records of jail inmates who had applied for parole for harvesting their wheat crop. The inquiry procedure was lengthy and this could be the reason for the resentment among prisoners, officials admitted.

Meanwhile DGP (prisons) Mohammad Izhar Alam visited the Central Jail here yesterday and instructed the officials to speed up the inquiry procedure, so that inmates could be released on parole in time for the harvesting season.

UNI